Paid for a book on CLink Exchange, we never get the book - shows up for sale on the Boards 10 10

[Dr. Balls]

On 7/7/2022 at 11:29 AM, godzilla43 said:

decided to sell it somewhere else for more money (personal reasons probably were seller hates not getting the max dollars for his books)

And just to reiterate - I hold no ill will towards anyone who wants to make max dollars. That's the beautiful thing about this country. You can go out and demand max dollars for anything you do. Whether you get it or not is up to the market.

But, if you decide that you want to make max dollars after you have agreed to taking my less-than-max dollars, you'd better be prepared to get a red-assing.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Dr. Balls

[Dr. Balls]

On 7/7/2022 at 12:58 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

I'm sure he'll be banned by comiclink, and or others, hope it was worth it, but idk, it's all a bit  Glad you're content at the moment  

I am a little surprised at the culture of selling books on consignment and not disclosing that you don't have possession of the book. Clearly these sellers and auction houses know that not telling buyers they don't have the book in hand could discourage a sale.

The business philosophy of purposefully omitting important details of the transaction in order to secure a sale is not something I subscribe to. Intermediary or not, I now find the whole concept of consignment incredibly shady unless you are actually holding the book.

Edit: and for the record I had zero idea CL did not possess the book. My only other consignment experience was with MCS, which has possession of the book. I was surprised that two large outfits have very different ideas on how they manage consignments. I figured it might be standardized.

I mean, in a matter of days I could have bought the book that I already paid for elsewhere from the seller here and run into the same problem of paying for my item and then waiting for it to arrive from some other location because it wasn't disclosed as a consignment book? Doesn't anyone think that's a bit ridiculous - or am I just overthinking the perils of buying consigned books?

Edited July 7, 2022 by Dr. Balls

[kav]

On 7/7/2022 at 11:46 AM, MAR1979 said:

Not even a good buddy of mine who had a shop for 27 years although he was not as bad as most of their ilk.  "G" if your reading this we both know it's true!
BTW: We actually talked about it after seeing Dr Strange in May.

Still I persist knowing there must be some out there. Its a Coelacanth rather than a Unicorn situation

 

I know one who is impeccably honest but I agree that is a rarity.  At least in my experience.

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 7/7/2022 at 2:11 PM, Dr. Balls said:

I am a little surprised at the culture of selling books on consignment and not disclosing that you don't have possession of the book. Clearly these sellers and auction houses know that not telling buyers they don't have the book in hand could discourage a sale.

The business philosophy of purposefully omitting important details of the transaction in order to secure a sale is not something I subscribe to. Intermediary or not, I now find the whole concept of consignment incredibly shady unless you are actually holding the book.

I mean, in a matter of days I could have bought the book that I already paid for elsewhere from the seller here and run into the same problem of paying for my item and then waiting for it to arrive from some other location because it wasn't disclosed as a consignment book? Doesn't anyone think that's a bit ridiculous - or am I just overthinking the perils of buying consigned books?

Lol as I said, I'm like you and learning about these auction houses. For those who use them often, I'm sure it's old hat and buyer is assumed to know. I have never really tried so idk any fine print anywhere, but one of my LCS does consignment but the books are in store and he still tells you first. More to the fact that he's not able to adjust the price BECAUSE it is consignment. They like to do a lot of trades and trade INS for non consignment, and only take 10% from consignment that sell.

Just to give you feedback.

 

[Dr. Balls]

On 7/7/2022 at 1:19 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Lol as I said, I'm like you and learning about these auction houses. For those who use them often, I'm sure it's old hat and buyer is assumed to know.

 

The buyer is assumed to know the difference between an in-stock book and a consignment book? And if the buyer doesn’t know, he’s at his peril for making a purchase? 
 

I’ve been buying and selling comics and records for 30 years and if someone told me that was their business policy, I’d probably go R Lee Ermey on them.

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 7/7/2022 at 2:28 PM, Dr. Balls said:

The buyer is assumed to know the difference between an in-stock book and a consignment book? And if the buyer doesn’t know, he’s at his peril for making a purchase? 
 

I’ve been buying and selling comics and records for 30 years and if someone told me that was their business policy, I’d probably go R Lee Ermey on them.

You quote me but I'm new so don't know the answers your looking for. I did give you another world example of consignments, but they wouldn't have details of your transactions at the major auction houses.

On 7/7/2022 at 2:19 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Lol as I said, I'm like you and learning about these auction houses. For those who use them often, I'm sure it's old hat and buyer is assumed to know. I have never really tried so idk any fine print anywhere, but one of my LCS does consignment but the books are in store and he still tells you first. More to the fact that he's not able to adjust the price BECAUSE it is consignment. They like to do a lot of trades and trade INS for non consignment, and only take 10% from consignment that sell.

Just to give you feedback.

 

See above your post

[shadroch]

Comic Link takes consignments for their auctions. Their exchange is not a consignment site. They act as a broker, expediting sales. It was a great business model in the 1990's but I don't see the point these days. It's too easy to abuse. Take a sellers money, wait a month and then say the book wasn't recieved or wasn't in the right condition.  Wait a couple of weeks and issue a refund.  Then relist the book.

[F For Fake]

What continues to be amazing to me is the number of folks trying to pull shady stuff in this community, as though we don’t all talk to each other. Reputation is everything, and the circle of people who spend thousands on these books is much smaller than some of these guys realize. As Hector said, Boardies have always done a much better job of policing transactions than any other selling body, but even the stuff that sells off-boards is going to come to light on these pages, eventually.

Sorry you’re dealing with this mess, Balls. What a bunch of junk.

[Dr. Balls]

On 7/7/2022 at 2:01 PM, shadroch said:

Take a sellers money, wait a month and then say the book wasn't recieved or wasn't in the right condition.  Wait a couple of weeks and issue a refund.

Imagine making micro-interest on all those transactions every day - that's a lot of money. I don't discount the idea that other people have taken that concept and applied it to their own business. It's just speculation to the concept, but it's not really speculative thinking that businesses look for behind-the-curtain ways to supplement income.

I tried that idea myself, but no one would pay me today for a burger I would give them three weeks from now.

[Cobbledclam]

On 7/6/2022 at 7:41 PM, shadroch said:

F.T.S.   The last time I dealt with comic link, I'm waiting on a nice sized check. I call and am told it is on Josh's desk and will go out that day. A week later, still waiting Josh's signature.  47 days to get paid, 25 after I was told it was on his desk.  Not only do they get a commission on every sale, they get interest free loans on every sale, and even on their non-sales.   It's not an accident.

 

Multiply x transactions x $$$ x delayed paying/refunding = potential x bonus $$$ interest accumulated = 🤫🤔😵‍💫💰🤬🤡

Edited July 7, 2022 by Cobbledclam
Pic

[Aman619]

nice that some folks are thinking of making money with simple interest!!!  The days have been long gone through a decade of .01% in bank account interest.  Rates are rising, but still small change compare to the 6-9% you could bank back in the early 80s.  Back then slow paying bills amounted to real dough!  not so much now.  Client pays you 100K, sit on it an extra 30 days?  Bam! 7K free money.

 

 

[telerites]

On 7/7/2022 at 5:03 PM, Dr. Balls said:

I tried that idea myself, but no one would pay me today for a burger I would give them three weeks from now.

Yeah, it works like this, Jason -- Good luck with this - sorry you are going through it

Edited July 7, 2022 by telerites

[Lightning55]

On 7/7/2022 at 6:48 PM, Aman619 said:

  Client pays you 100K, sit on it an extra 30 days?  Bam! 7K free money.

 

 

It would take a YEAR to make 7k on 100k, presuming 7% interest (in the old days), not 30 days.  One twelfth in 30 days = $583

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 7/7/2022 at 7:47 PM, Lightning55 said:

It would take a YEAR to make 7k on 100k, presuming 7% interest (in the old days), not 30 days.  One twelfth in 30 days = $583

Edited July 8, 2022 by THE_BEYONDER

[shadroch]

On 7/7/2022 at 3:48 PM, Aman619 said:

nice that some folks are thinking of making money with simple interest!!!  The days have been long gone through a decade of .01% in bank account interest.  Rates are rising, but still small change compare to the 6-9% you could bank back in the early 80s.  Back then slow paying bills amounted to real dough!  not so much now.  Client pays you 100K, sit on it an extra 30 days?  Bam! 7K free money.

 

 

I don't think it is a big profit center, but it keeps the cash flow moving which makes everything smoother.

[kav]

On 7/7/2022 at 5:09 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

 

[Cobbledclam]

Just adding up the totals of some of the bigger sales and auctions from the last few years from their homepage and that was a pretty nice sum. Add the other 100’s or thousands of smaller to medium transactions and that’s some good overflow amounting to a few good, really good mind you, steak and lobster dinners from  the interest. More power to them! Input/hold/output repeat. 99.8 they do a terrific job at what they do. They always will do their best to make any glitches right and that’s why they are still around. There should be no problem on getting your money from them just a little longer than one would prefer due to their business structure. 

[Dr. Balls]

On 7/6/2022 at 8:41 PM, shadroch said:

Not only do they get a commission on every sale, they get interest free loans on every sale, and even on their non-sales.   It's not an accident.

I was thinking about this on the drive home. This is how a bank operates. Banks use the money in deposit accounts to make loans to other people or businesses. In return, the bank receives interest payments on those loans from borrowers, never actually having "money" themselves. They generate revenue on other people's money (everyone knows this).

In the case of the auction house scenario - Seller 1 sells a book last month and Buyer 1 pays within 10 days, leaving 20 days for floating the money allowing themselves a massive fund to make purchases, invest, etc. Seller 2 sells a book today and Buyer 2 pays for it, but if the money paid to them from the previous auction is tied up - they can take Buyer 2's money and pays off Seller 1 from 30 days ago, perpetually never actually paying people with the funds they make from the specific sale because it can always be paid from future funds due to the 20-day float. They have access - like you said - to a big pile of money to leverage against something else that generates them profit, but they are using someone else's money to do it.

They are basically operating a bank but without any regulation. If they were forced to pay out every single payment in a short period of time (like a run on a bank) - would they have all the funds to cover their liabilities? Casinos are required to do this and healthcare organizations are required to have money in the bank at all times to cover the liability of their policies - is there similar requirements for auction houses to adhere to?

An auction house can simply tell a customer that it won't pay them - unlike a bank or casino. If you go to the bank, you can get your money. If you win $100k at the casino, they have to pay you on the way out. It is not legal for them to say "Come back in 20 days and I'll write you a check." I'm sure somewhere in the user agreement of an auction house this is stipulated, but I found the parallels Shad brought up interesting.

Oh and:

[Cobbledclam]

And from state to state probably different laws and regulations etc. concerning your situation….

[Aman619]

On 7/7/2022 at 7:47 PM, Lightning55 said:

It would take a YEAR to make 7k on 100k, presuming 7% interest (in the old days), not 30 days.  One twelfth in 30 days = $583

oops.  guess I held payments for a FEW months!??  for lots of clients!  

yes youre right, my math was wrong.  But we collected 1000s in free money holding cash payments longer.  Nowadays, even a million bucks @ .01% is roughly 100 bucks a year.  Back then it was almost 6K a month.  That was rent and phones for a nice office.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Aman619